Stay The Night

by Parker, Ali

  Looking out over the ocean as the last rim of the sun dipped behind it, I was a little stunned to think that in just twenty-four hours, I would be in Florida. With Blake. Hell yeah.

  I was going to keep it as a surprise for him. I only hoped he would agree it was a good one.

  Chapter 38

  Blake

  Mom? I blinked, and then I blinked again. I kept thinking the woman standing in front of me was going to be gone when I opened my eyes again.

  My feet wouldn’t move. Neither would my legs. It seemed my limbs weren’t responding to the signals my brain was sending them. My hand was still on the doorjamb, my feet rooted to the spot right in the entrance of my father’s room.

  I hadn’t seen this woman since I was a child, but she was smiling at me with her arms extended a little, like she either wanted to squeeze my cheeks or was waiting for a hug. Neither of those things was going to happen.

  Over my dead fucking body was I letting this woman touch me. She left us when I was so young I barely had any memories of her. I could count the ones I did have out on my fingers. We hadn’t seen or heard from her since, which begged the question.

  “What are you doing here?”

  The hopeful smile on her face fell. Her hands dropped limply to her sides, then she started toying with her slender fingers. “I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome, but a simple hello would be nice.”

  “Yeah, hi.” My hand finally moved from the door and I stepped into the room, closing the door behind me. Eyes darting away from my mother’s, I swept my father’s room. It looked exactly the same, down to the last machine.

  A fissure ran through my heart. I hadn’t been expecting much of a change, but I thought there would at least be fewer machines. My mom sighed and gracefully lowered herself back down into the chair she vacated when I came in. “I was told you were here for a few days after he was admitted. As you can see, his condition remains largely unchanged. The doctors have assured me he is healing, it’s simply happening internally.”

  The doctors have assured her? Why the fuck did she suddenly care about him now? She shouldn’t even be in here.

  For years, she hadn’t so much as checked in with any of us. Not when I broke my arm or Danny broke his leg. Not when we were sick, on our birthdays, or even at Christmas. She missed our graduations, our proms and just about everything else. She was present when we were born—presumably—but that was about it.

  What gave her the right to come marching back in now to give me updates on the man she left behind to raise their two children alone? Nothing. She waived all her rights where any of us were concerned the day her feet hit the pavement outside our front door.

  “Why are you here?”

  She dropped her eyes to her lap. When they lifted back to mine, they were glassy, yet there was a hint of determination shining through the tears. “I’m here because your father is my husband and the father of my children. How could I stay away?”

  “You haven’t been concerned about the father or the children in all these years and there is nothing here for you now. I can take care of him. I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember. As for him being your husband, he hasn’t been that for a long, long time.” My tone was bitter, but I couldn’t help it.

  This woman had balls of steel to be sitting there playing the concerned victim now. She had ripped my father’s heart to shreds when she left. In all these years, he never had even one serious relationship. Not serious enough to introduce to us, anyway. He had been alone for decades, and that was on our mom.

  She tore our family apart and never even explained why. She just—left. That was it. No note. No goodbye, just poof—no more Mom.

  The woman sitting in front of me now was my biological mother, sure, but I no longer had a Mom. She looked up at me, shaking her head sadly. “I know you’re mad at me, Blake. Lord knows I deserve your anger. Once your father wakes up, perhaps we can have a proper conversation.”

  “A proper conversation?” I scoffed. “It’s a little late for that. Frankly, I have no idea what you’re even doing here after all these years, but if you don’t mind, I would like some time alone with my father.”

  “Blake, please. I’m not leaving him.” She leaned forward and grasped Dad’s hand. “And I told you why I’m here. Your father is my husband and he’s in a coma. There is no place else I would be.”

  That was fucking rich. I folded my arms, my eyes shooting daggers at her. “Why now? After everything that’s happened and all the years you’ve been gone, you shouldn’t be here. You have no right.”

  Sighing, she shook her head again before glancing lovingly at my father. She didn’t look away from him as she started speaking again. “I was on the phone to him just before he had the stroke. We were going to speak again the next day. When he didn’t call, I knew something was wrong. I tried to find out what happened, but you boys did an incredible job keeping it quiet. It took a few days before I convinced Norma to tell me what had happened. She was the only person I could talk to.”

  Dad spoke to her that day? I couldn’t believe it. And he was supposed to call her again? Dad never talked about our mom, but I’d always assumed that since she didn’t speak to us, she didn’t speak to him either.

  Apparently, I was wrong. This was easily the most confused I’d ever been in my life. It didn’t change the facts though. Nothing she said could explain away the fact that she left her children behind, never to be seen again.

  Conveniently, she seemed to have forgotten about that one tiny, little thing. She stroked Dad’s cheek, brushing some hair off his forehead. She was so gentle, so loving, and I could see why the doctors bought into her act that she was the ultimate, dedicated wife.

  “As soon as Norma told me what had happened and where he was, I knew I had to come immediately.” She continued quietly, her eyes glued to my father. “There was no way I could stay away while he was lying here fighting for his life.”

  “Why do you even care?” I was getting more exasperated by the minute. “Have you forgotten that you left him more than two decades ago?”

  She kept quiet, closing her eyes as if she was in pain. Breathing in deeply, a sob ripped from her chest. She reached for a handkerchief in the purse beside her chair and dabbed at her eyes. “We need to have a proper conversation at some point in the future, once your father is better. I will take all the rage I deserve from you then, but I do care about your father, Blake. That’s why I’m here, that’s why I’m not leaving. I can be accused of many things, but I’ve always loved him. I can never be accused of not loving him.”

  “Did you just say you’ve always loved him?” Incredulity rang clear as a bell in my voice. The woman had to be delusional if she thought she loved him when she left him the way she did more than twenty fucking years ago.

  But it seemed that she didn’t see it that way. “Of course I’ve always loved him. I was hurt, Blake. All those years ago, I was so terribly hurt. Your father was always so concerned about the business, he worked day and night.”

  To make ends meet! I wanted to shout at her. She was married to the man, surely she knew his history. He came from nothing, he had nothing. He worked day and night then and he still did. He was building a multi-billion dollar company for fuck’s sake. A company that allowed my mother to live in luxury and for Danny and me to grow up with everything we could ever need and more.

  I didn’t remember much about my mom, but I sure as hell didn’t remember her ever turning down a fancy dinner, jewelry or a fur coat. I didn’t say any of this out loud, though.

  This was her show. I was merely a spectator. Ranting and raving at her next to my father’s unconscious form was hardly how my father raised us.

  A sad smile spread on my mother’s thin lips. “He was always so busy, I thought I lost him to that company. He fell out of love with me, or so I thought.”

  I knew better than that. I watched my father pine over her for years. He was a broken man. It was always clear to me tha
t he still adored her, that he loved her more than anything.

  She finally stole her gaze away from him, sliding it over to mine. “We never got a divorce, Blake. Neither of us ever instituted the proceedings. I loved your father fiercely and it turned out he felt the same way, that’s why neither of us ever moved on making our split final.”

  “You left us.” I said quietly, holding her piercing blue eyes with my own.

  She nodded. In a dramatic twist, one of the tears welling in her eyes finally broke free and rolled down her cheek. I was this close to gagging. Her theatrics weren’t going to get to me.

  “I didn’t want to leave you, you have to understand. You, Danny and your father were my life. I never meant to hurt you. I was trying to protect you. I thought it would be easier for you if I never made you have to choose between me and your father.”

  “I just, I can’t even believe what I’m hearing.” Blood rushed to my ears. “Are you honestly suggesting that you believed it would be easier for us if you left?”

  Sighing deeply, she closed her eyes and rolled her head back as she exhaled. “I’m not saying what I did was right, Blake. I thought it was at the time. This is why I know I need to have an honest conversation with you and your brother, to explain what happened. It would be better to do it once your father is awake, but we can do it now, if you’d like.”

  “No. I wouldn’t like.” Anger, confusion and betrayal swirled around inside me like a swarm of angry bees.

  “I know this is hard for you and you don’t understand, but—”

  “You don’t know anything about me,” I whispered loudly. It was absurd that she thought she knew a single damn thing about me.

  “No, I don’t. You’re right, but I love your father with all my heart. I always have and I always will. I never stopped loving him. I married him when he had very little and I was satisfied with that. When the company started doing well, money became the most important thing in his life.”

  I didn’t know what to say to that. She was wrong. My father was busy with the company, yes, but he’d always been there for my brother and me.

  “The thing about money Blake, is that it’s everywhere. Love isn’t. True love comes around once in a lifetime. Love for a person is only in one place, it’s not everywhere like money. The place where you find love is with the person you have it for. The most intense pain a person can feel is to know where your love is, but to never have it with you.”

  Of course she would blame my father for her leaving us. She hadn’t come right out and said it, but it was clear she blamed him. He was busy providing for his family, she just gave up on it. I didn’t want to stand here and listen to any more of her drivel, I couldn’t.

  Two decades without her and with my father, yet she was trying to convince me she was the one who was hurt. I wasn’t buying it.

  “I have to leave.” I turned toward the door. She started protesting, saying my name. Angling my shoulders so I could turn and look her in the eye, I said the only thing that made sense in the moment. “I have nothing to say to you.”

  Chapter 39

  Aston

  “I want to assure you that I will only be a phone call away at all times. If you need me, call. I only plan on taking vacation for a few days, but if I need to come back earlier, I will.” A sea of faces looked at me from around the biggest conference room we had at the hotel.

  I had called a staff meeting first thing this morning to announce I was taking some time off. While I’d made up my mind to go to Florida, I didn’t want my employees to feel like I was skipping out on them. I needed to make sure everyone knew I was only going for a few days and that they could contact me anytime they needed to.

  Most of the people scattered around the room smiled at me. A few looked just plain bored and were staring out the windows at the beach and ocean beyond. Calling a meeting to talk about my vacation wasn’t strictly necessary and I understood why some people were bored, but I needed people to be assured my leaving had nothing to do with the cuts.

  Smiling or bored now, everyone expressed their support when I first told them I planned on taking some time off.

  “No one calls her back early.” Alaric, a chef at the deck restaurant upstairs had spoken and sent a stare that meant business around the room.

  Low laughter sounded from the staff. One of the doormen standing at the back of the room called out. “Hear, hear.”

  As I waited for the laughter to subside, I smiled. The table in the conference room wasn’t big enough to seat everyone. Those who couldn’t find a seat were standing around the room or leaning against the walls and windows.

  Friendly, familiar faces of those I loved. I owed it to them to be there, even if I was going to be in a different state for a couple of days. We’d all had a rough few weeks with the turnaround of the hotel and threat of cuts hanging over our heads.

  Nerves skittered across my skin. It had been happening since I made the decision to go. I felt responsible for these people and leaving now felt wrong. I took a deep breath to strengthen my resolve. We weren’t in danger anymore.

  Blake told me there would be no cuts at this branch. Everyone deserved a break and I was part of that everyone.

  Forcing myself to stay focused on the fact that it was only for a few days and everything would be fine, I continued. “I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the hard work you’ve all been putting in. I need you to know that I value each and every one of you.”

  “And we value you, fearless leader,” Sasha, the fitness coordinator, called out from the back. There was a round of murmurs, agreeing with her.

  “Seriously, thank you, Aston. We know you saved our asses,” the head of security said. He was one of the first ones in the room when the meeting started and was sitting right at the front.

  “We did that together,” I told him.

  One of the ladies from the childcare and babysitting service shook her head. “We couldn’t have done it without you. Don’t worry about anything here while you’re gone, we’ve got it handled. You just relax and enjoy your break.”

  “We’ve got your back kid,” Alaric piped up again. “Now get out of here and go have some fun. Lord knows you deserve it.”

  Some of the employees started clapping their hands. I gave a little mock bow and laughed. “Okay, I think it’s time we wrap this up. Please remember to call if you need me. Keep up the good work and I’ll see you soon.”

  On my way out of the room, several people stopped me to wish me a good vacation. When I was done, Tiffany was waiting for me out in the hall. “I told you they respected you enough as their manager to want this for you.”

  “I’m not sure if it’s respect or good riddance,” I joked. “They were so supportive, I’m wondering if they’re relieved to be getting time off from me.”

  Tiffany laughed and waved me off. “Silly girl. It’s respect. Everyone here loves you. You all packed and ready to go?”

  “My bags are in the car,” I told her. “I won’t lie to you though, I keep second guessing myself. We’re fresh off the cutback scare. It doesn’t really feel like the right time.”

  “You’re doing the right thing,” she insisted, grabbing my arm and taking off toward the parking lot. “We are fresh off the scare, but that’s the beauty of it. You saw us through the storm, now you get to go down to the luau deck and soak up the sunshine because it’s over.”

  “The luau deck, huh?” I nudged her. “Maybe I should’ve gone on a cruise instead of visiting Blake. My plane ticket is already booked to Florida, but I could always jump on a ship there.”

  Tiffany rolled her eyes, giggling. “You’re a real hoot today. But seriously, if you were taking a cruise, I would be coming with you. Don’t even think about getting on a ship without me.”

  I shrugged, “I can’t promise anything at this point.”

  “You can,” she said, poking my side and causing me to flinch out of her reach so she wouldn’t tickle me and reduce me to
a giggling mess as I was trying to walk out of the hotel. “And you will. Promise me right now or regret it forever.”

  “What are you going to do to make me regret it?” The possibilities with Tiffany were endless, and a little terrifying.

  “How about making sure your coffee is always tepid by the time you get to drink it?” She pushed her little finger against her mouth. “Or providing you with your own personal ear worm guaranteed to sing you a song every morning?”

  I shuddered. “If you try, I’ll just keep singing it back to you.”

  “You wouldn’t.” She bumped my hip with hers. “Let’s make this easy on both of us. Spare me the time and effort of searching for revenge strategies and promise you won’t go on a cruise without me.”

  “Fine. You got it.” Going on a cruise with Tiffany would definitely go on my bucket list, but for this first holiday of mine, there was no where I’d rather be than with Blake. Spending some time with him away from the hotel sounded heavenly, somewhere we could be together openly and where I wouldn’t have to keep running back to work.

  I would finally get to spend some time with him just being me. Sure, we’d still be dealing with the McAllen Property Group since he had to confront his brother and be with his father, but it felt different than being with him here at the hotel.

  Of all the things I was concerned about, there was one that stood out a little above the rest. “Do you think I’m doing the right thing by surprising him? Or should I let him know I’m coming?”

  “Surprise him,” she said, without hesitating. “Even if he’s the kind of person who hates surprises, he’s going to love this one.”

  “I hope so.” I knew where our corporate office was, so my plan was to go straight there and see if I could find Blake. If not, I would move to Plan B. It wouldn’t be as much of a surprise if I had to call and ask him to meet me somewhere, so I was hoping Plan B wouldn’t be necessary.